Beyond the Hollowtangle by Shane Trusz & Darryl Frayne

Author:Shane Trusz & Darryl Frayne [Trusz, Shane & Frayne, Darryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781999549510
Publisher: Fairbay Publishing
Published: 2018-12-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22: Recovering at the South Crow Gate

Without a sound, Rowe removed his Trannalun cloak and dangled his legs off the operating table. He sat up and stretched with a quiet yawn. Fresh, brilliant-white bandages were swathed around his lower leg. Between Julie’s surgical expertise at extracting the gnome bolt from his calf, and the reviving capacity of the cloak, there wasn’t a hint of blood. Despite the quick healing and four solid hours of sleep, he was exhausted. He looked enviously at Morgan sleeping quietly on a cot next to the table. Throughout the triage area, soldiers, porters, and medics slept within the shade of the South Crow Gate.

Rowe tossed his cloak over his shoulder and tested his weight on the bandaged leg. Standing was painless. He took a few steps without a limp, breathed a grateful sigh, and climbed the stairs to the wall walk.

The midday sun beat down on the uncovered wall where soldiers hid behind the battlement with arrows nocked, wide-eyed. Strange, Rowe thought, it was too early for the battle to begin. He wandered over to the ballista. Dadore and Kydaris stood back near the guardrail within earshot of Tranas and Illious in the midst of an impassioned argument. The boys wore sheepish looks, like children who had been caught lighting fires where they shouldn’t have.

“Gentlemen.” Rowe climbed the steps to the platform, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the shimmering sunlight.

“Rowe, they’ve been shooting at us, if you can believe the gall,” Tranas said.

Rowe donned his cloak and approached the battlement. In the clearing below, gnomes were still carrying off their wounded, but at the center of the battlefield was a semicircular wall of timbers protecting a small troop and a ballista. A bolt ricocheted off Rowe’s cloak, and he backed away from the battlement.

Tranas was smirking. “I suppose the grace you spoke of was lost on the gnomes.”

“I guarantee it meant something to the wounded who didn’t have to bleed alone on foreign soil as the sun slowly burned the life from them.”

Illious glared.

“I never said you couldn’t shoot back at them,” Rowe said with a yawn.

“And I never said we didn’t,” Tranas countered. “But our arrows won’t penetrate their blockade.”

Dadore ventured a step toward the men. “Begging your pardons, but we do have—”

Illious flashed a threatening frown that cut off his young student.

“Why the short leash, Illious?” Rowe asked calmly.

“They do not comprehend the potential repercussions of their actions!”

“So why did you bring them?” Tranas pressed.

Illious’s face turned a fiery red. “I brought them to support me in my work, but evidently they had other ideas!”

“I’m not sure if you’ve been keeping score, Illious, but—” Tranas began.

“There’s as much blood on my hands as yours, Councilman! But if these two are not restrained, they could do infinitely more harm than good.”

Rowe stepped between Tranas and Illious. “There won’t be anything left to harm if we don’t come together and find a way to get through another night,” he said. “Shades! Listen to that commotion.

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